Maldives

Chapter 6. Strategic Considerations

Anchor, symbolizing naval power in the Indian Ocean

HISTORICALLY, the western Indian Ocean has played a
vital role
in international politics. In ancient times, maritime
commerce
attracted numerous nations to the region, including Egypt,
Persia
(Iran), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, Indonesia, and China.
During
the period of European colonial empires, Portugal, the
Netherlands, Britain, and France sought to protect their
respective strategic and commercial interests by
protecting the
lines of communications and providing external defense and
internal security to Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros,
Seychelles,
and Maldives. After 1945, Cold War considerations provoked
competition between the United States and the former
Soviet Union
for access to strategically important air and naval bases
in the
western Indian Ocean and for the loyalties of the area's
indigenous governments. Britain and France also maintained
a
military and political presence in the region throughout
much of
the Cold War. After the collapse of communism in the
Soviet
Union, Moscow ended its military presence in the western
Indian
Ocean. However, the United States has continued to
maintain an
interest in the region. The post-Cold War era also has
provided
traditional powers such as France and emerging regional
states
such as India, South Africa, and Australia with an
opportunity to
increase their activities in the western Indian Ocean.

In addition to the presence of foreign military powers
in the
region, Madagascar, Mauritius, Comoros, Seychelles, and
Maldives
have pursued their own national security objectives. Apart
from
providing internal stability, indigenous security forces
have
sought to protect the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs)
claimed by
all five countries and to prevent the use of the western
Indian
Ocean as a transshipment point for illegal drugs.